The Minuteman missile is maintained on
alert in an unmanned, hardened underground launch facility (LF)
approximately 80 feet deep, 12 feet in diameter, and covered by a
100-ton blast door which is blown off prior to missile launch. A
launcher support building (LSB) buried near the launch tube contains
environmental control equipment and standby power sources. An
electronic surveillance system is used at the LF to detect intruders.
The missiles are deployed in "circular" flights of ten missiles
controlled by a single, centrally located launch control center (LCC)
manned by a Missile Combat Crew. The LCC contains all equipment needed
by the crew to control and monitor the missile and the LFs. Each LCC
is separated from the others by a minimum of 14 miles and is buried at
a depth of 40 to 100 feet below grade. The missile alert facility (MAF)
topside contains living quarters and support equipment for the
facility manager (FM), chef, and security personnel. The 490 Missile
Squadron consists of 50 LFs arranged in five flights (Kilo, Lima,
Mike, November, and Oscar). For survivability, each missile is located
at least three miles from adjacent missiles and are redundantly
interconnected by a buried, hardened cable network which connects them
with the LCCs. Each LCC continually monitors the operational status
and security of the ten missiles and LFs in its own flight and has the
capability to control, monitor, and launch all 50 missiles in the
squadron. Launch, if directed, must be commanded by at least two
different LCCs in the squadron or by the airborne launch control
center (ALCC) aboard a modified EC-135.

LGM-30A/B Minuteman I

In the late 1950s advances in
solid-fuel propellants enabled the Air Force to develop its first
solid-fuel ICBM, the Minuteman I (LGM-30A/B). Formal development began
in September 1958, and after an extraordinarily rapid development
program, the Air Force put its first ten Minuteman ICBMs on
operational alert at Malmstrom AFB, Montana, in October 1962.
Deployment proceeded at an equally furious pace, and within 5 years
1,000 of the solid-fuel missiles stood poised in their silos.

Minuteman is a three-stage,
solid-propellant, rocket-powered ICBM with a range of approximately
5,500 nautical miles. Minuteman also possessed an all-inertial
guidance system and the capability of being fired from hardened and
widely-dispersed underground-silo launchers. A consortium of five
contractors produced four distinct models of the Minuteman ICBM weapon
system, each model being an improvement over the former: Minuteman I
(models "A" and "B"), Minuteman II (model "F"), and Minuteman III
(model "G"), the latter capable of carrying multiple independently-targetable
reentry vehicles (MIRVs).

The Western Development Division (WDD)
was interested in solid-fuel ICBMs in 1954, but at the time found that
solid-fuel motors did not produce sufficient thrust and were difficult
to control. The Air Force, however, did not abandon the technology,
and the WDD and the Wright-Patterson Air Development Center sponsored
research in solid fuels throughout the mid-1950s.

By the spring of 1957, Air Force
research indicated that a solid-fuel ICBM was possible. That fall the
Air Force Ballistic Missile Division's (AFBMD-it changed its name
effective June 1, 1957) Col. Edward Hall designed the revolutionary
Minuteman ICBM. In marked contrast to the first generation Atlas and
Titan I liquid-fuel missiles, Hall proposed building a relatively
small, three-stage solid-fuel missile that would be inexpensive to
build and maintain. He envisioned basing thousands of the missiles in
unmanned, heavily hardened and widely dispersed silos linked
electronically to a series of central launch control facilities.

The Air Force was initially cool toward
the new concept, but was spurred into action when the Navy proposed
modifying its Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) for
use as an ICBM. Anxious to defend its role in solid-fuel development,
in February 1958 AFBMD sent Hall to Washington to brief the Secretary
of Defense, the Secretary of the Air Force, and the Strategic Air
Command's General Curtis LeMay on the Minuteman concept. They were
impressed with the program, and quickly allocated the AFBMD $50
million to begin research and promised the development center another
$100 million if they proved that the Minuteman was indeed feasible.

In July 1958 AFBMD began to develop the
components and select the contractors. By the following September the
missile development command had made sufficient progress to convince
the Air Force to support full Minuteman system development, and the
following month the AFBMD chose the Boeing Airplane Company as the
missile assembly and test contractor. Shortly thereafter, the AFBMD
awarded the guidance contract to the Autonetics Division of North
American Aviation (later a Division of Rockwell International) and the
reentry vehicle contract to AVCO Corporation. Todevelop the first-,
second-, and third-stage motors AFBMD sponsored a competition between
the Thiokol Chemical Corporation, the Aerojet General Corporation, and
the Hercules Powder Company. The Air Force awarded the initial
contracts with the under-standing that the company with the most
promising design would win the production contract.

In September 1959 the AFBMD
successfully launched a Minuteman first stage motor directly from an
underground silo, thus proving that the missile would survive the
rigors of a subsurface launch. In February 1961 the AFBMD launched a
Minuteman containing all three stages and operational subsystems from
the Air Force Missile Test Center in Florida. This was called an "all
up" test. The missile performed flawlessly and after a flight of 4,600
miles its reentry vehicle landed within the designated impact zone.

Based on the success of the initial
test flight, in March 1961 the Department of Defense formally
accelerated the Minuteman program and gave it the same development
priority as the Atlas and Titan ICBM programs. In November 1961 the
AFBMD launched a complete Minuteman from a silo at the Operational
Standardization andTest Facility (OSTF) at Vandenberg AFB, California.
The missile recorded a successful flight of 3,000 miles.

In conjunction with the Minuteman
development effort, the Army Corps of Engineers Ballistic Missile
Construction Office (CEBMCO) built the launch facilities. Construction
of the launch facilities and launch control centers at the first
Minuteman squadron at Malmstrom AFB, Montana began in March 1961 and
was completed late the following September. On October 22, 1962, SAC
placed its first flight of ten Minuteman missiles on operational
alert.

Deployment of the Minuteman force was
accomplished with amazing speed. The Minuteman launch facilities were
much smaller and easier to build than the Atlas and Titan launch
facilities. Using prefabricated components and standardized
construction techniques, CEBMCO built 1,000 silos by 1966.

From its very inception, the Minuteman
program was oriented towards mass production of a simple, efficient,
and highly survivable ICBM capable of destroying all types of enemy
targets with consistent reliability. The Air Force hoped that such a
program would reverse the unfavorable trend towards succeeding
generations of progressively more costly ICBMs and provide the
Strategic Air Command with a weapon system that was inexpensive to
operate and maintain.

During the early development phase of
Minuteman, the Strategic Air Command favored the concept of deploying
at least a portion of the programmed force (from 50 to 150 ICBMs) on
railroad cars. SAC submitted a requirement to the Air Staff on 12
February 1959 calling for the first mobile Minuteman unit to be
operational no later than January 1963. To determine the feasibility
of deploying Minuteman ICBMs on mobile launchers, SAC ordered a series
of tests to be conducted, nicknamed "Operation Big Star." Beginning 20
June 1960, a modified test train, operating out of Hill Air Force
Base, Utah, traveled across the western and central United States so
technicians could study factors such as the ability of the nation's
railroads to support mobile missile trains; problems associated with
command, control, and communications; the effect of vibration on
sensitive missiles and launch equipment; and human factors involved in
the operation of a mobile missile system. Originally, six trial runs
were projected, but only four were necessary to realize all test
objectives. On 27 August 1960, the last of four Minuteman ICBM test
trains arrived back at Hill AFB and the Air Force announced that the
test of the Minuteman mobility concept had been completed
satisfactorily.

Despite SAC's repeated pleas in favor
of mobile Minuteman, the Air Force assigned top priority to the fixed
silo-based Minuteman concept. Furthermore, on 28 March 1961, President
John F. Kennedy deferred further action on the development of the
three mobile Minuteman squadrons in favor of three additional
squadrons of silo-based Minuteman units. Secretary of Defense Robert
S. McNamara finally settled the issue on 7 December 1961 when he
canceled the mobile Minuteman development program.

Minuteman I was deployed in two
variants, Minuteman I/A and I/B. Minuteman I/A was an interim weapon
because a flawed first stage reduced its range by 2,000 miles. Rather
than delay the entire Minuteman program while it corrected the
problem, the Air Force elected to go ahead and deploy 150 Minuteman
I/As. By July 1963 150 Minuteman missiles were on operational alert;
that number increased to 300in October 1963, 450 by March 1964, and in
June 1965 the 800th Minuteman I missile was turned over to its SAC
crew at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming.

A decision regarding the final size of
the silo-based Minuteman ICBM force was not made until December 1964.
A new Minuteman system program directive issued on 11 December 1964
established the final Minuteman force at 1,000 missiles. Three years
earlier, on 1 December 1961, Headquarters SAC had activated the first
Minuteman squadron, the 10th Strategic Missile Squadron (ICBM-Model A
Minuteman I) at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. Only two other
model "A" ICBM squadrons were activated by Headquarters SAC. These
were the 12th Strategic Missile Squadron, activated on 1 March 1962,
and the 490th Strategic Missile Squadron, activated on 1 May 1962,
also located at Malmstrom. The next thirteen Minuteman squadrons
activated by the Strategic Air Command were all model "B" Minuteman I
units.

Strategic Air Command housed each
Minuteman I, whether a model "A" or "B", in an unmanned, hardened, and
widely-dispersed (three-to-seven mile intervals) underground-silo
launch facility. A missile combat crew of two officers stationed in a
hardened, underground launch control center monitored each flight of
10 launch facilities (five flights per squadron). For purposes of
command, control, and communications, hardened underground cables
linked all five launch control centers of a Minuteman squadron.

The Minuteman Force Modernization
Program initiated in 1966 to replace all Minuteman I's with either
Minuteman II's or Minuteman III's continued through the latter 1960s
and into the mid-70s. The last Minuteman I series "An missiles were
removed from their launch facilities at Malmstrom AFB, Montana, on 12
February 1969. These facilities were refurbished and outfitted with
Minuteman II series "F" missiles. Boeing Aerospace Company, the
contractor responsible for remodeling the launch facilities, completed
the nine year modernization effort on 26 January 1975 when it turned
over to SAC the last flight of ten Minuteman III missiles at the 90th
Strategic Missile Wing, F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming. The Minuteman I was
deactivated in 1972 when the Air Force began it's modernization
process to the Minuteman III.

LGM-30F Minuteman II

In service since 1965, the Minuteman
"F" was a three stage, solid propellant, intercontinental ballistic
missile. Because solid propellant is so stable in storage, the missile
can be stored almost indefinitely and yet be ready to launch on short
notice. This ICBM had a range of over 7,000 nautical miles and carried
a single nuclear warhead. 450 missiles were fielded at one time,
though the Minuteman II has been decommissioned and the missiles
disassembled.

Even as the Minuteman I program raced
forward, the Air Force began developing the new Minuteman II. On 2
October 1963, shortly after the first model "A" and "B" Minuteman I
squadrons achieved operational status, Headquarters USAF issued Annex
A to Specific Operational Requirement 171 which established a
requirement for the Minuteman II ICBM (Model "F").

The new missile was a significant
improvement over its predecessor. A more advanced missile than either
model of the Minuteman I, the "F" model incorporated a new, larger
second-stage, improved guidance system, a greater range and payload
capacity, and an increased capability to survive the effects of
nuclear blast. A new second-stage motor with a single nozzle and a
secondary liquid injection for thrust vector control increased the
missile's range from 6,300 to 7,000 miles. The new motors also enabled
the Minuteman to carry the larger W-56 warhead with a yield of 1.2
megatons. An improved guidance system made the missile more accurate,
and it could store a larger number of preprogrammed targets within its
internal memory. Moreover, Minuteman Il also carried penetration aids
to camouflage the reentry vehicle during reentry.

In view of the numerous advantages of
the Minuteman II, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara approved the
Minuteman Force Modernization Program on 8 November 1963. The project
entailed the eventual replacement of the entire force of deployed
Minuteman I ICBMs, 150 "A" and 650 "B" models, with Minuteman IIs.

The Air Force awarded Boeing the
Minuteman II contract in March 1962 and the Seattle-based contractor
conducted the first test flight in September 1964. In May 1966 SAC
placed its first Minuteman II squadron on operational alert, and by
April 1967, accepted its 200th Minuteman 11. At that point the
Minuteman force stood at 1,000 missiles; 800 Minuteman Is and 200
Minuteman IIs. Continuing its missile modernization effort, throughout
the late 1960s the Air Force replaced many of its Minuteman Is with
Minuteman Hs, and by May 1969 it had 500 Minuteman Is and an equal
number of Minuteman IIs on operational alert.

To prepare for the emplacement of the
newer model Minuteman II ICBM, it was necessary to completely retrofit
the original Minuteman I launch facilities, launch control facilities,
and associated ground equipment. The Minuteman Force Modernization
Program began at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, on 7 May 1966 when
the first flight of ten model "B" Minuteman missiles were removed from
their silos at the 509th Strategic Missile Squadron. On 1 February
1965, Headquarters SAC activated the 447th SMS at Grand Forks AFB,
North Dakota, making it the seventeenth Minuteman squadron and the
first to be equipped with "F" model missiles. Fourteen months later on
1 April 1966, SAC activated the fourth Minuteman II, and the twentieth
and last Minuteman squadron, the 564th SMS, at Malmstrom AFB, Montana.
Once the 564th SMS achieved operational status on 21 April 1967, the
deployment of the programmed force of 1,000 Minuteman ICBMs was
completed.

In FY96, the last Minuteman II booster
was dismantled at Hill AFB, UT, and turned over to the Rocket System
Launch Program. All Minuteman II silos at Ellsworth AFB, SD, have been
destroyed, with the exception of one National Park Service missile
site. Approximately 1/3 of the sites at Whiteman AFB, MO, had been
destroyed by FY96, with the remainder programmed for FY97.

LGM-30 Minuteman III

Five
hundred Minuteman III missiles are deployed at four bases in the
north- central United States: Minot AFB and Grand Forks AFB, North
Dakota, Malmstrom AFB, Montana, and F. E. Warren AFB, Wyoming.
Operational since 1968, the model "G" differs from the "F" in the
third stage and reentry system. The third stage is larger and provides
more thrust for a heavier payload. The payload, the Mark 12 reentry
system, consists of a payload mounting platform, penetration aids,
three reentry vehicles (RVs) and an aerodynamic shroud. The shroud
protects the RVs during the early phases of flight. The mounting
platform is also a "payload bus" and contains a restartable hypergolic
rocket engine powered by hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide. With this
configuration, the RVs can be independently aimed at different targets
within the missile's overall target area or "footprint". This concept
is known as Multiple Independently Targeted Reentry Vehicles (MIRV).

The LGM-30 Minuteman missiles are
dispersed in hardened silos to protect against attack and connected to
an underground launch control center through a system of hardened
cables. Launch crews, consisting of two officers, perform
around-the-clock alert in the launch control center. A variety of
communication systems provide the National Command Authorities with
highly reliable, virtually instantaneous direct contact with each
launch crew. Should command capability be lost between the launch
control center and remote missile launch facilities,
specially-configured EC-135 airborne launch control center aircraft
automatically assume command and control of the isolated missile or
missiles. Fully qualified airborne missile combat crews aboard
airborne launch control center aircraft would execute the NCA orders.

The Minuteman weapon system was
conceived in the late 1950s and deployed in the early 1960s. Minuteman
was a revolutionary concept and an extraordinary technical
achievement. Both the missile and basing components incorporated
significant advances beyond the relatively slow-reacting,
liquid-fueled, remotely-controlled intercontinental ballistic missiles
of the previous generation. From the beginning, Minuteman missiles
have provided a quick-reacting, inertially guided, highly survivable
component to America's nuclear Triad. Minuteman's maintenance concept
capitalizes on high reliability and a "remove and replace" approach to
achieve a near 100 percent alert rate.

Development of the last of
the series, the Minuteman III, began in December 1964. By the time the
last Minuteman IIs of the 564th SMS were placed on strategic alert in
the spring of 1967, significant progress had been made on the
development of the more advanced Minuteman III ICBM. The Minuteman
III, using modernized Minuteman I and Minuteman II ground facilities,
provided reentry vehicle and penetration aids deployment flexibility,
increased payload, and improved survivability in a nuclear
environment. The missile was the first ICBM to be outfitted with MIRVs
that enabled a single missile to carry multiple warheads, each
programmed to attack a different target. The Minuteman III reentry
system could deploy penetration aids and up to three Mark 12 or Mark
12A multiple independently-targetable reentry vehicles. A
liquid-fueled post-boost propulsion system maneuvered the missile
prior to deployment of the reentry vehicles, while upgraded guidance
system electronics enhanced computer memory and accuracy. The new
missile contained an improved third-stage motor with a liquid
injection altitude control system and a fixed nozzle that increased
the range to over 8,000 miles and significantly increased the payload.
A liquid-fuel postboost propulsion system maneuvered the missile
before deployment of the reentry vehicles. An improved guidance system
with an expanded memory also improved the system accuracy; the
Minuteman III warheads are said to be accurate to within 800 feet.

In February 1968, the fourth Minuteman
III test vehicle fired from Vandenberg AFB completed a successful
5,500-mile flight. In January 1971 the first squadron of Minuteman
Ills was turned over to the 91st Strategic Missile Wing at Minot AFB,
North Dakota. The force modernization effort continued throughout the
early 1970s and by July 1975 there were 450 Minuteman IN and 550
Minuteman Ills under SACs control.

Beginning in 1966 the Air Force
instituted a comprehensive long-term maintenance program to ensure
that the Minuteman force remained a strong and viable deterrent for
years to come. In 1966 the Air Force initiated a Minuteman ageing
surveillance program and in 1976 began a long-range service life
extension analysis for the propulsion system. The latter effort
resulted in the remanufacturing of the Minuteman II second-stage motor
and an investigation of the condition of the liner in the Minuteman
III third stage. Also during the 1970s many of the Minuteman launch
facilities were further hardened and the missiles were fitted with new
command data buffers that facilitated faster retargeting. In 1985 the
Air Force began the comprehensive Rivet MILE (Minuteman Integrated
Life Extension) program destined to take the Minuteman force into the
twenty-first century.

On 17 April 1970, an important
Minuteman III milestone was reached when the first missile was placed
in a silo assigned to the 741st Strategic Missile Squadron, Minot AFB,
North Dakota. At the end of December, the 741st SMS became the first
SAC Minuteman III squadron to achieve operational status.

Strategic Air Command expected
Minuteman to play an important role in the command's force structure
beyond the year 2000. To ensure the reliability and maintainability of
the Minuteman force into the next century, the Air Force initiated a
major Minuteman upgrade and modification program. Rivet MILE
(Minuteman Integrated Life Extension Program) began 1 April 1985 at
the 341st Strategic Missile Wing, Malmstrom AFB, Montana. This joint
Strategic Air Command and Air Force Logistics Command effort was the
largest single missile logistics program ever undertaken within the
ICBM program.

Through state-of-the-art improvements,
the Minuteman system has evolved to meet new challenges and assume new
missions. Modernization programs have resulted in new versions of the
missile, expanded targeting options, significantly improved accuracy
and survivability. Today's Minuteman weapon system is the product of
almost 35 years of continuous enhancement.

Peacekeeper missile deployment also
affected the Minuteman force. As part of the strategic modernization
program undertaken in 1982, Strategic Air Command deployed fifty
Peacekeeper missiles in modified Minuteman III silos assigned to the
400th Strategic Missile Squadron, 90th Strategic Missile Wing, F.E.
Warren AFB, Wyoming. Conversion began on 3 January 1986, when the
first Minuteman came off alert, and the phaseout of the 400th SMS's
Minuteman IIIs was completed on 11 April 1988.

The current Minuteman force is
structured in a wing squadron, and flight concept. Each missile wing
consists of three or four squadrons. Missile wings at F.E. Warren AFB,
Grand Forks AFB, and Minot AFB have three MM III squadrons, totaling
150 MM III per wing. Malmstrom AFB had four MM III squadrons totaling
200 missiles once Grand Forks AFB deactivated. Each missile squadron
has five flights interconnected by a network of hardened, buried
electronic cables. A missile flight consists of an Missile Alert
Facility (MAF) electronically tied to 10 Launch Facilities (LFs). The
LFs are located 3 to 16 miles from the MAF, with each LF situated 3 to
9 miles apart. These facilities are interconnected by a redundant
network of hardened, buried cables, or a single path of hardened,
buried cables plus a medium frequency radio (Grand Forks AFB and
Squadron IV at Malmstrom AFB). Any MAF within a squadron can monitor
status, command tests and launch any of the missiles within its own
squadron. Also, the Airborne Launch Control Center (ALCC), under
restricted conditions, can launch any missile within the Minuteman
Force. Each MAF is staffed 24 hours a day by a missile combat crew of
two officers.

As a result of U.S. initiatives to
cancel development programs for new intercontinental ballistic
missiles and retire the Peacekeeper ICBM, Minuteman will become the
only land-based ICBM in the Triad. To compensate for termination of
the Small ICBM and Peacekeeper Rail Garrison programs, DOD will
conduct an extensive life extension program to keep Minuteman viable
beyond the turn of the century. These major programs include
replacement of the aging guidance system, remanufacture of the
solid-propellant rocket motors, replacement of standby power systems,
repair of launch facilities, and installation of updated, survivable
communications equipment and new command and control consoles to
enhance immediate communications.

The Rapid Execution and Combat
Targeting (REACT) equipment modification was installed in a total of
50 Minuteman III Launch Control Centers at F.E. Warren AFB, WY;
Malmstrom AFB, MT; and Minot AFB, ND; with a Final Operational
Capability date of 31 July 1996. All modified sites are presently on
operational alert status. Key features of the modification program
include: reduction of retargeting time by 50 percent, integration of
Launch Control Center Command & Control and Higher Authority
Communications, automation of routine functions to reduce crew
workload, increased crew survivability, replacement of obsolete
Command & Control and Higher Authority Communications equipment, and
implementation of two-level maintenance.

The Minuteman III Guidance Replacement
Program (GRP) consisted of a five-year engineering and manufacturing
development (EMD) program. The program requirement is to extend the
service life of the Missile Guidance Set (MGS) beyond the year 2020 by
replacing aging parts/assemblies with current, high reliability
technology while maintaining the current accuracy performance. During
FY96, the system Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and a number of
component critical design reviews were successfully conducted.
Engineering Models (EM) of the MGS were built and tested to identify
design weaknesses prior to the critical design review, and to lower
the risk in the operational models used for qualification testing and
initial operational test and evaluation. EM testing was also conducted
at the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Strategic Missile
Integration Complex (SMIC) to verify compatibility with the actual
missile hardware interfaces. GRP is also upgrading electronics in the
Minuteman III MOD 7 telemetry wafer.

On 16 September 1998 the Minuteman III
Guidance Replacement Program (GRP) successfully completed a second
flight test from Vandenberg AFB. This second and final program
development flight test further validated the end-to-end operational
capability of the ICBM with the upgraded guidance system. The first
flight test was conducted on 24 June 1998, and was found to meet or
exceed all operational requirements. Following lift-off from
Vandenberg AFB the missile traveled approximately 4,200 miles to the
Kwajalein Missile Range. The flight test program followed successful
completion of more than two years of rigorous ground testing conducted
at government facilities in Albuquerque NM, Ogden UT and Vandenberg
AFB and the Boeing facility in Anaheim CA.

Full-rate production began in 2000 with
a total of 652 units being produced to support 500 operational
Minuteman III ICBMs. The upgraded guidance system low rate initial
production (LRIP) efforts were initiated in March 1998, with award of
the LRIP contract to Boeing. Guidance hardware build efforts commenced
at Boeing’s El Paso TX manufacturing facility; where all previous GRP
engineering and operational model hardware was built. Honeywell, a
teammate on the program, conducts program production and test
activities at its site in Clearwater FL. The first operational
guidance systems were delivered to the Air Force in early 1999, ahead
of the contract schedule.

In December 1995, the Minuteman
Propulsion Replacement Program (PRP) was declared an Aquisition
Category IC program. The program requirement is to extend the service
life of the current Minuteman III rocket motors through 2020. All
three stages underwent successful preliminary design reviews which
updated the development specifications necessary to achieve the
program requirements. Additionally, the Stage 1 rocket motor
fabrication processes were demonstrated. The Stage 2 motor was
successfully fired with new insulation materials, including
environmentally friendly propellant manufacturing processes. The Stage
3 motor demonstrated its first design changes in a static firing at
the Arnold Engineering Development Center rocket motor test facility.
PRP also experienced a major challenge in FY96. The sole producer of a
key propellant ingredient had an event at their facility causing the
loss of their manufacturing capability. The program developed several
options to find a new source of the material or to demonstrate the
feasibility of another material.

The ICBM Team successfully tested a
33.4 year old Minuteman Stage 1 motor at the Utah Test and Training
Range on February 24, 1999. LMS and Thiokol personnel in support of
the Minuteman Stage 1 aging surveillance program conducted the static
test, designated AS-16. Motor performance was very much as expected
and even met motor specification requirements designed for Production
Quality Assurance (PQA) motors. This 33.4 years old motor was the
oldest Stage 1 motor ever tested. This test was the last of a series
of 16 aging surveillance tests of Stage 1 motors conducted since 1994.
The next aging surveillance test of an operational Stage 1 motor is
scheduled for the year 2005.

The Minuteman MEECN Program (MMP) will
replace the aging Survivable Low Frequency Communications System (SLFCS)
in the Minuteman (MM) Launch Control Centers (LCCs) with an integrated
Extremely High Frequency (EHF) and Very Low Frequency/Low Frequency (VLF/LF)
communications capability. As the newest link in the Minimum Essential
Emergency Communications Network (MEECN), this effort will provide the
LCCs with the ability to receive Emergency Action Messages (EAMs) in
the EHF and VLF/LF spectrum and send force reportback messages over
EHF. For the MM LCCs this will include integration into the Higher
Authority Communications/Rapid Message Processing Element (HAC/RMPE)
processor. Missile Procedure Trainers (MPTs) and Minuteman Enhanced
Procedures (MEPs) trainers as well as the development/maintenance
systems will be modified to reflect changes to the ICBM operational
system. Performance requirements for this program are specified in the
ICBM LCC EHF System (ILES) Operational Requirements Document (ORD),
the VLF/LF Communications Capability for the ICBM LCCs ORD, and the
MMP ORD Addendum. The ISST and AFSATCOM systems will stay intact until
deactivated by AFSPC.

In
order to meet warhead levels set by START II, the United States has
decided to permanently DEMIRV Minuteman III missiles from their
current capability to carry up to three reentry vehicles to a newly
configured single reentry vehicle system once the treaty enters into
force. "Downloading" Minuteman III missiles from three reentry
vehicles to one lowers the military value of each missile; reduces the
likelihood of any country expending resources to preemptively attack
America's ICBM force; and decreases the probability of future US
leaders being force into a "use or lose" position. For a downsized
force of 500 single reentry vehicle Minuteman III to continue to be an
effective deterrent force, the guidance replacement program will
improve the needed accuracy and supportability that is inherent in a
smaller missile force. Peacekeeper missiles will be deactivated by
2003, provided START II is ratified and enters into force. Ultimately,
a total of 500 single RV Minuteman IIIs will be the nation's ICBM
deterrent force through 2020.

The Safety Enhanced Reentry Vehicle [SERV]
program consists of modifications to existing hardware and software to
accommodate the MK21/W87 RV on the MMIII weapon system. These
modifications consist of the following: changes to weapon system
software, changes to the RS to accommodate RV mounting, guidance
hardware changes, and changes to support equipment (SE). The program
will replace the MK12/W62 and MK12A/W78 (RV's) with a single MK21/W87
RV on 350 missiles. The remaining force will consist of 150 single
MK12A's.